I have validated a questionnaire for measuring attitude towards physical education. Since the data was collected during Covid-19, the directions or instructions was made specifically for that situation.
My concern is, if my questionnaire should be used in future, specifically the directions or instructions needs slight modification.
Is it ok to modify the instructions of an already validated questionnaire? If not, what are the procedures i have to follow or perhaps suggest for other researchers?
I would be very happy for your valuable suggestions.
Modifying a part of a questionnaire is done all the time. First, you might need permission to use the questionnaire. Secondly, you must pilot and evaluate the modification. This could be anything from a Delphi technique, cognitive interviewing, to a full scale pilot and examination of validity/reliability. Admittedly, minor changes often see fellow experts review the modification and a small group of respondents not in the study take the instrument and be interviewed for misunderstandings.
No in my opinion. However if the questionnaire has been improperly used or its findings improperly reported it is essential to change it and optimally report how it has been changed and why.
Thank you so much David Coker Actually, the validated questionnaire I'm referring here is a questionnaire where I am the first author. As per my knowledge, I do not think validity and reliability test may be required as those test could be required when people adapt (modification of items such as discarding or addition of items). However, I would really appreciate if you can add some references or suggests your opinion regarding testing of validity and reliability again if there are changes made on the "instructions or directions" of the questionnaire
Standardization no longer applies if anything is changed [formally as in wording/items, to informally, i.e., researcher changes procedures during administration, such as extra directions or explanations, etc.]. Indeed, previous validity and reliability only apply if the survey is administered to the same population. Many mistakenly believe once published valid/reliable, always valid/reliable.
The type of change dictates how you decide validity/reliability and the hoped for equivalency. Trivial changes should still be examined. Many textbooks, such as cited in the following article, can help.
Boynton, P. M., & Greenhalgh, T. (2004). Selecting, designing, and developing your questionnaire. BMJ, 328(7451), 1312-1315.
David Coker Thank you so much Sir for your help. I'll go through it and recommend accordingly regarding the use of my questionnaire
This was necessary to mention in my thesis, thanks again David Coker Fraser Sharp